How many times this season have we been the better team and lost or drawn matches that should ahve been won? I feel for Mike Newell in his frustration!
The first half was unremarkable with Luton playing as though their season had already ended , and Millwall as if they were already relegated, and as half time approached both teams would have been lucky to have nil, so Millwall can consider themselves extremely fortunate to have been one up.
Ben May, marshalled by Heikkinen managed to conjure a goal from nothing on around 33 minutes, when he dragged the ball back with his studs, turned and fired a weak shot but perfectly placed to Beresford’s left and into the corner of the net. Luton had created very little and Millwall even less to that point and Mike Newell obviously had words at half time as Luton were a different prospect in the second half.
In two minutes they might have had two goals but happily settled for one when Howard nodded down a free kick from Unders, which Coyne latched onto and thrashed the ball into the roof of the net.
Signal the invasion! Luton took hold of the game and played plenty of their famous quick fire accurate football and many more goals should have followed.
Alas, it was another of those away days where nothing went in.
Edwards shot straight at Marshall when well placed and with Vine free to his left, and Zak Whitbread presented him with the chance of the match soon afterwards but Edwards beat keeper Andy Marshall and the left hand post.
Cameron fired over the bar in just about Millwall’s only attempt in the second half,and Brkovic had a good cchance with a bullet header when he sneaked in behind the under-pressure Millwall defence, but it landed straight in the arms of Marshall.
The Home faithfull turned on Manager Tuttle and booed him when he came out of the dug out to return the ball for a free kick and when he made a double substitution and took off Cameron and Dunne for Cogan and Williams, there was a long chorus of the song usually reserved for referees! ‘You don’t know what you’re doing!’
As Luton piled on the pressure the last thing on anyone’s mind was a Millwall winner, but more likely whether Millwall could hold on to the point they had!
However, the devil peed on Luton’s strawberries again when, in injury time, a long hopeful ball into the box looked odds on to be cleared by the converging Foley and Coyne, but just as Foley kicked at the ball, Marvin Williams came between the two Luton defenders to get the slightest toe poke on the ball before Foley, and with Beresford having begun to come out, changed his mind and forgotten to go back, it trickled into the bottom corner to the Luton keeper’s right.
There was no justice in the result, but, if you don’t take your chances it is a risk that you run.
The most impressive performer of the day was referee Uriah Rennie, who glides effortlessly into position and got just about everything right, and probably that includes the yellow card for Paul Robinson who went down theatrically, and then got up and said something to Rennie and then went down again. I was unconvinced that a stretcher was needed when ‘Pitch Rescue’ came to his aid!
Verdict: If Luton had have played first half as they did in the second, I doubt Millwall would have withstood the pressure for that long. Even so, they should have won this match easily, and it turned out to be yet another absolute mugging!
Teams:
Marshall; Lawrence, Paul Robinson (Dyer 82),Whitbread; Dunne (Williams 72), Elliott, Cameron (Cogan 72), Livermore, Craig; May, Asaba.
Subs not used: Doyle, Braniff.
Beresford; Foley, Underwood, Heikkinen, Coyne; Edwards, Nicholls, Holmes (Morgan 86), Brkovic (Showunmi 86); Howard, Vine (Feeney 73).
Subs not used: Brill, Barnett.
Manager Rating
Mike Newell: 8 Did all that could have been expected of him. Rallied the troops at half time and got a better effort from them second half. Could have changed Foley and Edwards around sooner, and lost the shape with the substitutions, but the team should have won the game.
He gave his well-practised after-match away defeat speech, saying that he is still fed up with having to say the same things each week!
Opponent Rating
David Tuttle: 6 More luck than judgement!
